Arab leaders have demanded that Syria pull tanks off its streets as part of a "road map" to end the violence that has killed more than 4,000 people.

Foreign ministers from the Arab League, meeting their Syrian counterpart, Walid Muallem, in the Qatari capital, Doha, called for the withdrawal of all military vehicles to "give assurances to the Syrian street."

They also demanded the release of political prisoners, deployment of Arab League monitors and full dialogue with opposition leaders.

"We have given a very strong response to the recent killings. The whole region is exposed to a big storm. It's important that Arab leaders know how to respond, and not respond with deception or twisting and turning," he said.

"More important than a dialogue is action," he added. "What is needed is taking steps for reform which avoid what happened in some Arab countries, because the change was difficult, and the destruction and losses were great."

This appeared to be a reference to Nato's military action in Libya. The Syrians have made no response to the demands so far.

The calls came as Nato's secretary-general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, rejected alliance involvement in any foreign military action against Syria. "It's totally ruled out. We have no intention whatsoever to intervene in Syria," he said.

Protesters have called for a Libyan-style no-fly zone over the country as violence appeared to intensify; 61 civilians and 30 soldiers have been killed in the last three days, according to opposition activists,

In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Assad warned that any military intervention in his country would "cause an earthquake" in the region.